The present invention relates to articles for the hair in which a first jaw and a second jaw are opposite one another and articulated with respect to one another by articulation means in order to allow the clamping of a lock of hair.
Hair articles in the form of a grip, used for ladies"" hair styling, have long been known. Such grips are described in particular in documents FR-A-770 805, FR-A-755 662, U.S. Pat. No. 2,201,719, DE-A-27 48 601 or GB-A-2 326 591.
Known hair grips generally comprise a first and a second jaw which are elongate in a direction of extension, opposite one another and articulated with respect to one another by articulation means allowing their respective pivoting about a lateral axis of articulation between an angularly separate position and a close position in which the two jaws are opposite one another in order to grip the lock of hair.
In these known hair-grip structures, each jaw is in one piece and includes a rigid body integral with at least one series of teeth which each extend directly from the rigid body. The teeth of a first jaw face toward the second jaw, in order to penetrate the hair engaged between the two jaws.
In other words, in known grip structures, the teeth and the principal body parts of each jaw form a rigid one-piece structure of relatively large mass.
In principle, hair articles have to offer effective gripping in the hair in order to prevent the displacement or fall of the hair article under the customary conditions of use. To this end, the jaws have to have a shape adapted to good gripping and to good attachment in the mass of hair.
Simultaneously, there is a need to reduce the production cost of such hair articles without thereby reducing their grip in the hair.
In point of fact, the grip of the hair article depends generally on the conditions of use and, in particular, on the variable number of hairs introduced between the jaws. Known hair-article structures do not allow sufficient adaptation to variations in conditions of use.
The problem proposed by the present invention is to design a new hair-article structure which makes it possible at one and the same time to improve the mechanical grip of the article in the hair and to lighten the jaws so as to reduce the quantity of materials thereof and thus the production cost.
To achieve these and other objectives, a hair article according to the invention comprises a first jaw and a second jaw which are elongate in a direction of extension, opposite one another and articulated to one another by articulation means allowing their respective pivoting about a lateral axis of articulation between an angularly separate position and a close position in which the two jaws are opposite one another, with two handling parts extending the respective jaws beyond the axis of articulation; furthermore, according to the invention, at least the first jaw comprises:
a rigid body, having an elongate principal part extending in the direction of extension, and having parallel transverse excrescences;
at least one elastically flexible structure extending in the direction of extension and offset laterally away from the principal part of the rigid body and connected just to the parallel transverse excrescences of the rigid body;
the elastically flexible structure having projecting parts oriented toward the second jaw.
According to a first embodiment, in the close position of the two jaws, the transverse excrescences are in a plane generally parallel to the second jaw. In this case, the rigid body of the first jaw defines, by means of its elongate principle part and by means of its two transverse excrescences, a plane which is generally parallel and opposite to the second jaw, and the projecting parts of the elastically flexible structure extend in a direction which is generally perpendicular to the plane of the first jaw.
In an advantageous embodiment, the rigid body comprises only two end transverse excrescences to which the respective ends of the elastically flexible structure are secured.
In a first embodiment, constituting a hair grip, the lateral axis of articulation is arranged along the principal part of the rigid body, parallel to the direction of extension.
According to a second embodiment, constituting a hair article closer to a hair pin or hair slide, the lateral axis of articulation is arranged along an end excrescence of the rigid body, perpendicularly to the direction of extension.
In order to improve the grip in the hair, the said at least one jaw comprises two parallel elastically flexible structures which are offset laterally with respect to one another, parallel to the second jaw. The number of excrescences penetrating the hair is thus multiplied.
Advantageously, the two jaws may have similar structures, with a rigid body and elastically flexible structures.
In a first embodiment, the elastically flexible structure is a structure in the form of a rod curved into a series of adjacent arches extending over a surface substantially perpendicular to the other jaw, the linking feet of which constitute the projecting parts penetrating the hair.
The elastically flexible structure in the form of adjacent arches of a first jaw may advantageously overlap, in a close position, into an elastically flexible structure in the form of offset adjacent arches of the second jaw.
According to one possibility, the excrescences of a first jaw may extend perpendicularly to the plane of the second jaw.
According to an advantageous alternative, each jaw comprises:
a first elastically flexible structure defining first projecting parts inclined toward a first direction of the direction of extension;
a second elastically flexible structure defining second projecting parts inclined toward the second direction of the direction of extension.
It will be understood that this increases the stability of the hair article in the hair, owing to the inclination of the projecting parts in two opposite directions.
According to a preferred embodiment, the article for the hair also comprises elastic means stressing the jaws in rotation relative to one another, toward their close position.
As an alternative or as a supplement, it is possible to provide other means for securing the free ends of the two jaws together in the close position.